Cheryl: “I feel so betrayed”
Cheryl worries her return to the limelight has been marred by pals speaking publicly about her private life
the singer T has been meticulously planning her big career comeback for later this year, but pals say Cheryl is frustrated after a series of trusted friends recently spoke about her private life in public.
The pals include Dermot O’leary, who let slip in an interview that she’s returning to The X Factor, and former manager Will.i.am. Talking about her exes, Will said, “[She’s] so happy and settled after having Bear. Before, she was always looking for that real thing, but in these kind of ping-pong relationships.”
Then, last week, music producer Naughty Boy dropped a strong hint that Cheryl was collaborating with him when he shared a picture of them with X Factor winners Rak-su, with the caption, “Watch this space.”
EMBARRASSING
Former glamour model Jordan also dredged up an embarrassing video of Cheryl from 2004.
A source says, “Cheryl was shocked at being talked about so publicly. Away from the limelight, she’s a very private person, especially regarding her family and personal life. She’d never dream of speaking about anyone else during an interview.
“She’s been very guarded about the details surrounding her comeback, and in particular her private life, and doesn’t like to feel she’s not in control of what’s being said about her. She doesn’t like people using her name to create headlines. She wishes they would ask her before publicly speaking out.”
These days, Cheryl, 34, has a very small group of girlfriends
– including ex-girls Aloud bandmates Kimberley Walsh, 36, and Nicola Roberts, 32, and her PA Lily England – and pals say her fame means it’s sometimes hard for her to trust people.
“Cheryl can’t help but see it as a betrayal when information about her private life is revealed,” the source adds. “It was frustrating for her to read that Dermot had talked about her X Factor return, as she would have preferred for it to have been confirmed later – she wants the focus to be on her new music before anything else.”
UNJUSTIFIED
The source adds, “Hearing Will talk about her relationships was upsetting, too. They haven’t spoken in over a year and, although she knows he never meant any harm, she doesn’t see how he can justify sharing his personal opinion of her. It’s left her reeling, she feels so frustrated by it all.”
Cheryl’s quest for privacy was most dramatically illustrated when she hid almost her entire pregnancy, refusing to ever acknowledge it. But her attitude now is in marked contrast to when she burst on to the showbiz scene in 2002 on talent show Popstars: The Rivals, and was hungry for fame. Coverage of her 2006 wedding to footballer Ashley Cole was sold to a magazine for a rumoured £1.5m, and she regularly spoke about their personal life before the marriage imploded.
Her carefree attitude and cheeky personality back then were perfectly encapsulated in the throwback video that Jordan posted earlier this month, writing, “A massive compliment from the beautiful woman @cherylofficial!”. The video showed Cheryl joking that Jordan – real name Katie Price – was a “f***ing cow” because she was jealous of her “fantastic” figure and “huge boobs.”
“Cheryl was mortified by the video, and found it cringeworthy,” says the source. “That’s not who she is any more.”
As Closer recently reported, Cheryl has also had to contend with trolls telling her to watch out for her man, following boyfriend Liam Payne’s raunchy duet with Rita Ora. Last week Liam, 24, and Rita, 27, made headlines again when he read out racy quotes from the steamy Fifty Shades Of Grey novels on the radio alongside the singer.
The source adds, “The last thing Cheryl wants is for people to start even more rumours about Liam and Rita and make something out of nothing. She’s asked Liam to be aware of how people talk about these things and he’s agreed.”
❛SHE DOESN’T LIKE PEOPLE USING HER NAME TO CREATE HEADLINES❜